


I wanna hold your hand.

by bettyluvsjuggie



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, First Meetings, Holiday Fic Exchange, Holidays, Ice Skating, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 08:30:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13163157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettyluvsjuggie/pseuds/bettyluvsjuggie
Summary: AU - Jellybean somehow manages to convince her brother to take her ice skating, but he is less than enthused about it. Things spiral out of control when Jughead ends up on the ice himself, and is then abandoned by his sister. Enter Betty Cooper, knight in shining armour. Pure fluff.





	I wanna hold your hand.

**Author's Note:**

> My bughead secret santa gift for @ryanalexandermadej! I know it's a few days late but I hope you enjoy! <3 
> 
> Thank you to my darling Alex for being my beta <3

“Jug, _please_!” Jellybean crooned, leaning up against the barrier, opposite Jughead. She was giving him that look, that pleading pout and the puppy-dog eyes accompanied with the mischievous glint in her iris - she knew she could twist him around her little finger with that look. Well, not this time.

“Absolutely not,” he said firmly, shaking his head and folding his arms across his chest just to make himself extra clear.

“You promised Dad that you’d do it with me,” she whined, her pout become a little more genuine as she realised he might not budge on this one.

“No,” Jughead said, raising an eyebrow at her, “I told Dad that I would _take_ you. I said nothing about taking part.” He smirked as Jellybean huffed, slumping to rest her head against the top of the barrier - he wondered whether he might actually win this time. “Besides, I brought Toni to do it with you so I didn’t have to,” he added smugly, throwing Toni a charming smile as he noticed her roll her eyes.

“Am I not enough for you, kid?” Toni teased, nudging Jellybean’s shoulder playfully.

“Mhfmhf.” Her mumbles were impossible to understand from beneath the layers of tangled raven curls that had splayed around her head, as she had made no effort to move from her slumped position.

“Well, if you’re not even gonna talk to me, I might as well go home. Maybe I’ll watch some tv or something,” she said lightly. She chuckled fondly as Jellybean shot up, wide eyed and shouting her protests. Toni reached out and ruffled the messy curls on top of her head, laughing again when Jellybean swatted her away quickly. “Fine, _I guess_ I’ll stay,” she said, a wide smile on breaking out on her face. “But how are we gonna get this dummy out on the ice?”

She briefly gave Toni a beaming smile before it melted into that classic Jones smirk, turning towards Jughead with an impish glint in her eye.

\--

As soon as she’d found out that there would be an outdoor ice skating rink at the Christmas Festival some of Riverdale’s residents were hosting in the park, Jellybean had been beside herself with excitement.

“Please, please, please ask if we can go, Jug!” she’d squealed, grabbing onto Jughead’s arm and quite literally pulling his attention away from his laptop. “I’ve never been ice skating before and I really, really wanna go! Please, please, please!” she babbled.

Jughead had smiled fondly - seeing that childlike enthusiasm, so eager and excited, had become a much rarer sight nowadays, she tried so hard to be ‘cool’ and grown up (as does any pre-teen). But it was nice to catch a glimpse. He must have been watching her for too long, because she had stilled, looking back at him expectantly.

“Why don’t you just go with your friends?” he had asked, with nothing worse springing to mind than going ice skating at a whole festival dedicated to holiday merriment - not exactly his cup of tea.

“Because my friends think it’s lame and if I make it look like you dragged me then I’ll still be cool,” Jellybean had whined, while Jughead rolled his eyes. “Pleaseee, Jug!” she repeated, moving behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

 _Nice move, JB_ , he had thought as he relaxed into her hold, placing a hand over the joined hands that rested against the top of his chest. Again, in her efforts to grow up, hanging out with her big brother had become something to be avoided - so moments like those had become few and far between, and Jughead couldn’t help but be softened by her affection. “I’ll talk to Dad,” he murmured with a small smile after a few moments, wanting to hold on for a while longer.

But she had tore away, pumping her fists in the air and shouting in excitement. Jughead had laughed softly, before she grabbed his hand and dragged him up from his chair, pulling him into their tiny trailer’s living room. Under any other circumstance, Jughead would not be caught dead dancing to Christmas music, but he didn’t mind it so much then.

\--

“Never gonna happen,” Jughead said firmly.

“Come on, it’d be so funny!” Jellybean pleaded, clasping her hands together. “He’d fall over on the ice so much that he’d lose all his street cred like _that_ ,” she said to Toni, snapping her fingers for affect.

“That’s not persuading me at all, Jellybean,” Jughead muttered, but seemingly going unnoticed by the two chatting girls in front of him. He just scowled silently instead.

“First of all, Jughead doesn’t have any street cred,” Toni drawled playfully, leaning towards Jellybean as if she was whispering but making no effort to lower her voice. She didn’t glance in his direction, but Jughead was pretty sure Toni knew he was glaring at her.

“I knew it,” Jellybean gasped dramatically, but let out a soft giggle seconds later.

“Secondly, he would _definitely_ fall over on the ice, like 100 times,” she teased, smirking with Jellybean as she placed a hand on the barrier for balance, hot pink fingernails peeking through her fingerless gloves. “That boy flails like a mad man in gym class… take away the friction and he is never gonna manage,” she said, sucking her teeth and shaking her head in mock disappointment.

“You’re probably right, he’d suck at it anyway,” Jellybean sighed, catching onto Toni’s reverse-psychology act. “Come on, Toni, let’s go,” she said, eagerly holding out a hand and grinning widely when Toni took it. If he was in a better mood, Jughead would have smiled at that - Jellybean’s unfaltering admiration for Toni was, for lack of a better (and less cringey) word, adorable.

“I know what you guys are trying,” Jughead muttered, still frowning, slumped against the bench he was sat on. “It’s not gonna work,” he said, gently shaking his head.

“We’re not trying anything,” Toni said, her brow creasing as if she were oblivious. “More fun without you anyway,” she shrugged nonchalantly, “right, JB?”

Jellybean smiled at the nickname, eagerly nodding at Toni and not even bothering to glance at Jughead. It seemed she had quickly forgotten her motives, too readily basking in Toni’s attention.

“Cool, see you in a bit, Jug,” Toni chirped sweetly, waggling her fingers at him and turning as if they were about to skate off.

“Wait,” Jughead groaned, standing up with a frown, disappointed in how easy he was to manipulate. “Three things.”

Toni swivelled smoothly and raised her eyebrows in a go ahead gesture.

“One, I have tonnes of ‘street cred’,” he scoffed, mostly joking but a little aware of the fact that the Serpent emblem on his back wasn’t born out of nothing. “Two, fuck the both of you but mostly Toni,” he added, ignoring the jubilant smiles that the two of them exchanged, probably guessing where he was headed.

“And three?” Jellybean prompted with a mischievous smirk.

Jughead huffed out a sigh, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Three, where do I rent the god damn fucking skates?” he huffed, repressing the urge the smile when the two of them cheered way too enthusiastically.

“It’s easy really,” Toni reassured him a few minutes later as Jughead was lacing up the ridiculous footwear. “You’ll get the hang of it in no time,” she said, patting his shoulder as she made her way back towards the rink. The amused smile that was already forming on her face made her words a lot less convincing.

“Thanks, Juggie,” Jellybean said, shooting him a genuine grin. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise,” she beamed, holding out her hand to him.

With a sigh, he took it and wondered why the hell he had agreed to do this.

\--

“This is neither easy, nor fun, you pair of fucking liars!” Jughead half yelled, consciously aware that there were children in close proximity, but a little bitter that they were so much better at skating than he was. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath, his hand shooting out to grab the barrier as he felt himself begin to lose balance again.

It had barely been twenty minutes, and Jughead had fallen on his ass more times than he could count. Jellybean had been laughing so hard that she’d fallen over herself a few times, once even dragging Toni down with her - it was pretty funny, and it almost made it worth it. Almost.

“Quit your whining,” Toni scolded, doing some fancy twirly thing that Jughead could barely handle watching without feeling like he was going to fall. _I bet she’s showing off on purpose, the little shit,_ he thought to himself, catching the barrier again as one of his feet slipped out from underneath him. He blew his hair out of his face with a frown, wondering how much longer he was going to be forced to endure this.

“It’s not that hard,” Jellybean said, clearly making an effort to stifle her giggles, but not doing a great job. “Here,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him slightly away from the side. “Just keep your knees bent and your weight forward,” she explained, demonstrating with a small encouraging smile. It wasn’t meant to be patronising, but having his 12 year old sister explain this to him wasn’t exactly the most flattering situation Jughead had found himself in.

Jughead frowned, indeed feeling any cool status he may have had disappearing further with every second - _just as those shitheads predicted_ . Though when he actually tried it out, repeating _knees bent, weight forward_ over and over in his head as he went, it was actually going a lot smoother. He couldn’t help but grin with pride. _Okay, it’s much more fun when it actually goes well_.

“Finally!” Toni huffed sarcastically, but a fond smile broke out on her face soon after.

“Yeah! Go, Jug!” Jellybean cheered enthusiastically, swinging their joined hands a little - causing Jughead’s eyes to widen in panic, terrified it would make him lose balance. Turns out his fear was misplaced, because a few moments later, she let go completely.

“Jellybean, what are you doing?” he said, his voice coming out far more panicked than he would have liked. “Get back here right now, young lady!” he yelled, noting the increasing distance between them and feeling furiously opposed to that development.

“You’re a pro now!” she teased. “Time to spread your wings and fly on your own, Jug,” she giggled, her pace quickening a little so she was skating slightly ahead of him.

“Keep practicing,” Toni said with a smirk, “and I’m sure you’ll catch up with us soon enough.” She let out a loud laugh as Jellybean grabbed her hand and began skating a lot faster, shooting further ahead than was possible for Jughead to reach, while he shouted after them and muttered expletives under his breath.

He was stranded, away from the barrier and without Jellybean to hold onto. He suddenly became aware that if he fell over now, there would be no way for him to get back up, nothing to grab onto for leverage. That added panic did not help his technique.

“Shit, okay,” he muttered, trying to psych himself up. He reached to adjust his beanie with one hand, holding the other out hoping it would provide him with balance. He began trying to move again, gently sliding one foot forward and repeating the mantra in his head: _knees bent, weight forward._ He could have moved back closer to the barrier, but maybe it was his stubbornness telling him to keep going without, determined to be just slightly shy of awful. He was moving along, if a little slowly, but he had yet to slip so he considered it a success.

Somehow, Toni and Jellybean had managed to circle back around to him, but they were clearly enjoying their own special kind of torture for him - instead of helping him, they just cheered and whooped patronisingly as they passed him, before speeding off again.

The determination to last for just a few more minutes had worn off, the novelty was gone, and Jughead didn’t want to be on that ice for another fucking second. He looked up, scanning the space for the nearest little gate leading to safe land. The rink hadn’t seemed so big from the sidelines, but now he was in the midst of it, Jughead wondered how the organisers had wrangled such a fucking massive one.

Before too long, his eyes landed on a gate to exit the rink not too far from where he was standing. He sighed in relief, not even caring where Toni and Jellybean had gotten to, only wanting to get away from all the ice and skates as soon as possible.

He straightened up unconsciously, just for a second - it probably wouldn’t have even mattered if a kid hadn’t accidentally brushed past him, barely even touching him… but it was enough to tip his balance. He fell onto the ice, hard.

“Shit,” Jughead groaned, scrunching his eyes shut as a dull pain spread through him and pushed himself up slightly. He spotted a boy standing a couple of feet from him, peering at him worriedly - probably the one who inadvertently caused his fall. With a somewhat forced smile, Jughead waved him off, knowing it wasn’t his fault really.

“Uh.. hi.”

Jughead looked up, squinting his eyes against the harsh sunlight. There was a girl swaddled in a large grey knit scarf and a pale pink pea coat standing over him, with her hand outstretched.

“Would you like help up?” she offered, a warm friendly smile painted on her lips.

Jughead hesitated for a second, before realising there was so other way he would be able to stand on his own, and placing his hand in hers.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully. He grimaced a little as he stood, being gently pulled up by the vaguely familiar looking blonde in front of him. She pulled them slightly further towards the centre of the rink, so they were just away from the stream of people passing. She dropped his hand, but stayed close, her hand hovering in the area below his elbow, poised to catch him if he slipped.

A look of genuine concern crossed her face as her wide green eyes ever so briefly skimmed over him. They seemed to linger briefly on the leather jacket before flicking back up to meet his own, but that was no different to what Jughead was used to by now. She was polite enough not to sneer at him like some Northside took great pleasure in doing.

“Are you okay? That looked like it hurt…” she said, seeming to be legitimately worried for a complete stranger. Stumbling across that kind of fierce compassion had become a rarity for Jughead. It spread a warm, unfamiliar feeling through his veins.

“I’m never going fucking skating again,” he muttered bitterly under his breath, carefully wiping his hands against his jeans, before looking up at her with an apologetic smile. “Can we just pretend it didn’t happen?” Jughead breathed a laugh, adjusting the beanie on his head. “You seeing me fall on my ass is a really shitty first impression,” he joked, wincing slightly in his embarrassment.

“It sort of isn’t,” she let out an awkward laugh, before spotting Jughead’s confused expression. “I mean, I know you… No, I don’t know you! Well sort of, I’ve seen you before,” she stammered nervously, her gaze fluttering around to avoid his own. “I work at Pop’s,” she sighed, collecting herself with a tight-lipped smile and a slow nod - her ponytail swaying softly behind her. “You always get a fries, a burger and black coffee,” she explained with a meek smile, still a twinge of nervousness lingering around the edges of her expression.

After a second of initial surprise, Jughead suddenly felt awful that he hadn’t immediately recognised her; now recalling vague images of her in the pink neon lights of Pop’s, pouring out his coffee with a friendly smile as he furiously typed away on his laptop, barely acknowledging her. _God, I’m such an asshole_.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry!” he said, kicking himself internally. “I’m Jughead.” He scoured his brain, wondering if he could recall the letters written on the name-badge but coming up blank.

“Nice to meet you properly,” she said, breathing a quiet laugh, “I’m Betty.” For a moment, she looked like she was debating something, her pale pink lips slightly pursed as if she was going to say something else. A few moments later, she cleared her throat and asked softly, “Would you like some help over to the side?”

For the sake of his pride, Jughead desperately wanted to say no - he probably already seemed ridiculously lame at this point, definitely not living up to the ‘hardened gang member’ stereotype (not that he ever had before). On the other hand, his dumb pride was what landed him in a pile on the floor in the first place; so he found himself nodding with a grateful smile.

Betty extended her hand again and Jughead slipped his palm against hers. When their hands met, Jughead smiled, feeling the warmth of Betty’s skin gradually trickling heat into his numbing fingers. She shivered slightly, the reverse effect happening on her end.

“Sorry,” Jughead chuckled, his thumb lightly stroking the back of her hand absentmindedly.

“That’s alright,” she said with a smile. She began to skate forward carefully, her gaze flitting back to Jughead nervously when he winced. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, I can just feel myself waking up tomorrow with a thousand bruises,” he said, groaning in a slightly over-dramatic manner, stirring a quiet laugh in Betty which made him grin.

“If you don’t mind me asking...” Betty said softly, pulling them forward again with a natural, graceful ease, “you don’t seem overly fond of skating…”

“So why the hell am I here?” he offered with a low chuckle, recognising that it was a reasonable question. “My little sister is floating around somewhere, she and my friend forced me onto the ice and then abandoned me. They think it’s funny that I suck,” he explained, as it occurred to him that he hadn’t spotted those rascals in the past few minutes, though he was aware that his attention had been focused elsewhere - a kind, beautiful blonde with cheeks flushed pink from the cold air.

“Snap,” Betty chuckled. “My sister asked me to come with her, but she’s off flirting with some guy she likes,” she shrugged, brushing it off, but it looked like it bothered her.

“ _But_ ,” Jughead said in a light tone, “you don’t suck at skating.”

“I had lessons when I was a kid,” she explained with a fond smile. “You should have seen me when I first started, I was terrible,” she said, shaking her head softly as she let out a melodious laugh. “I was much worse than you… no offence,” she turned to him quickly, eyes wide as if she’d said something awful.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Jughead scoffed, watching her glide across the ice beside him while he sort of clunked and shuffled. “Nope, I just don’t buy it.”

“It’s true!” she insisted enthusiastically. “My first few lessons, I could barely stand on the ice… One time, I almost gave my mom a heart attack because she thought I’d fell and knocked a tooth out… which I actually did, my last baby tooth,” she said, breathing a laugh.

“How long was it before you realised?” Jughead asked with a smile.

“During the emergency dentist appointment, thirty minutes after the accident. My mother called in a favour.”

“That’s insane,” Jughead said, placing his other hand on the barrier that they had drifted towards. The gate wasn’t far from them now, and as much as he wanted to sit down and rest his aching limbs, he didn’t really want to stop listening to Betty talk… she seemed interesting. He wanted to let go of her hand even less.

“Yeah, she can be a little intense sometimes,” Betty said, lifting her head and spotting the gate ahead of them “I guess the lessons paid off though,” she said, looking up at him with a bright smile.

“Yeah, how else would you have come to my rescue?” Jughead chuckled, squeezing her hand a little.

Suddenly, Betty let out a small squeal and crashed into his side; he instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist to make sure she didn’t fall as he awkwardly collided with the barrier, wondering what the hell had just happened.  

Jughead’s head snapped up just in time to see a hurricane of pink and raven locks, shouting “Oops, sorry!” over their shoulders as they sped away giggling.

He turned back to Betty, seeing that she had followed his gaze to the culprits. He became suddenly aware of their position: Jughead was sort of leaning with his back towards the barrier, his arm still wrapped so tightly around Betty’s waist that her body had been practically pulled flush against him. She must have realised around the same time she did, because a light blush was slowly creeping across her cheeks.

“Your sister?” she asked, a little breathless from the surprise of it all.

“Yep.”

She hadn’t pushed him away yet.

“Is the now the time when I’m supposed to make some cheesy joke about how you ‘fell for me’?” Jughead asked, a boyish grin spreading across his face. Betty giggled, pressing a hand over her mouth and shaking her head.

“ _Technically_ ,” she said, her own charming smirk forming on her face, “you fell first.”

“I guess you’re right,” he said, nodding. “Hey, Betty?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your number?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me a comment and let me know what you think <3


End file.
